A river in the Central African Republic
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A cannibal who ate another man’s flesh in the Central African Republic has said he did it because he was looking to revenge the death of his family.

Ouandja Magloire told the BBC that his pregnant wife, his sister-in-law and her child were all killed by Muslim militiamen, and he wanted to avenge their deaths.

He led a mob that dragged a Muslim man from a bus in the country’s capital, Bangui, stabbed him to death and then set his body on fire.

Footage of the attack then shows Mr Magloire eating part of the victim’s leg. No-one tried to stop him.

Muslim rebels seized control of the country last March and installed Michael Djotodia as president. His supporters then launched months of attacks on Christians, killing, raping, looting and assaulting rivals.

The reports of cannibalism, which first surfaced at the weekend, brought to mind memories of CAR’s late dictator, Jean Bedel Bokassa, who allegedly ate his enemies during his rule between 1966 and 1979.

Mr Djotodia stepped down on Friday. Alexandre-Ferdinand Nguendet, the interim president, said on Monday that “the party is over” for armed groups, called Seleka and anti-balaka, that have rampaged through the country in recent months.

Speaking at a police headquarters in the capital Bangui, he said: "To the ex-Seleka, to the anti-balaka and the lovers of looting, I'm giving you a severe warning: The party is over.

"The chaos is over, the pillaging is over, the revenge attacks are over."

Mr Nguendet is also the speaker of the CAR parliament, which has been charged with finding a new transitional president within two weeks.

Hundreds of soldiers and police officers who had earlier deserted their posts were returning to work on Monday and Sunday night was "particularly calm" with no reports of looting, according to residents contacted by AFP.

The troops, many of whom had fled their units for fear of being killed, heeded a call from chief of staff General Ferdinand Bomboyeke to return to barracks by Monday.

"They came in very large numbers and they're still coming," said Colonel Desire Bakossa, who supervised the registration.

"They answered the general's call. It's a relief. It's a very good sign."

Similar centres have opened in Bangui for police to register after many of them deserted too.

Mr Nguendet said the police, completely absent from the streets of Bangui in recent weeks, would be "redeployed within 72 hours and would take part in the disarmament process" underway in the city.